FIFA has appointed a team of Portuguese match officials to oversee Saturday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-final between Argentina and Switzerland.
The governing body announced the appointments in a post on X on Thursday ahead of the match, which will be played at Kansas City Stadium.
Portugal’s Joao Pinheiro will serve as the centre referee.
He will be assisted by fellow Portuguese officials Bruno Jesus and Luciano Maia as Assistant Referee 1 and Assistant Referee 2 respectively.
Canada’s Drew Fischer has been appointed fourth official, while Micheal Barwegen, also from Canada, will serve as the reserve assistant referee.
The appointment follows FIFA’s long-standing practice of assigning officials from countries not directly involved in the match.
Since the start of the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, no referee has been assigned to officiate a match involving his own national team in either the group stage or the knockout rounds.
The latest appointment comes days after FIFA named an all-Argentine officiating team for France’s quarter-final against Morocco.
Facundo Tello took charge of that fixture, assisted by Juan Pablo Belatti and Gabriel Chade, while Dario Herrera served as fourth official and Cristian Navarro was the reserve assistant referee.
The decision attracted reactions from some football fans, who questioned the appointment because Argentina remained in the tournament and could potentially meet either France or Morocco in a later round.
However, FIFA regulations allow officials from countries still competing in the tournament to officiate matches, provided they are not assigned to games involving their own national teams.
Argentina and Switzerland will battle for a place in the semi-finals, with the winner advancing to face the victor of another quarter-final.
